The unsolved mystery regarding the identity of Jack the Ripper has plagued mankind for decades. You know who might have stood a shot at solving it? Sherlock Holmes. Cue ‘Murder By Decree’, which tosses the famous detective into the fray and gives us an elementary solution to the unsolvable murders…

Cristián Jiménez’s romantic drama is carried by an interesting premise, but its restrained tone and shades of artificial whimsy make it difficult to emotionally invest in the story. Focussing on a man who finds himself driven to obsessively narratavise his own life, this distance is perhaps appropriate but, ultimately, it means that Bonsái leaves you a little cold.

As sweet a story as you’d expect for the origins of the World’s Nicest Puppet, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey just about manages to win you over with its saccharine rags-to-expensive-felt tale. Sure, it’s more of a celebration of the golden days of Jim Henson Productions than anything else, but with Elmo at the helm it was fairly unlikely this documentary was ever going to explore the back alleys of Sesame Street…

A surprise hit stateside when it displaced Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol from the top of the box office, The Devil Inside defied a near-universal critical mauling to find an audience. Released last week in U.K. theatres, one can only hope that British audiences are a little more discerning.

Dexter Fletcher’s sensational directorial debut is a gangster film with almost no gangstering in it. Featuring a meticulously well-crafted cast, an engaging story, a script which is by turns heartbreaking and hilarious and a totally believable central performance, this film couldn’t be less like Guy Ritchie’s nonsensical oeuvre if it managed to sustain a relationship with Madonna. Superb.

Though at times it threatens to become a taut, politicised gangster tragedy, derivative plotting and stale dialogue ensure A Gang Story remains a no more than passably decent true crime flick, in the mould of many, many others.

A bold directorial debut from Michael Haneke’s long-time casting director Markus Schleinzer, Michael is a remarkably assured piece of work. Dealing with a subject matter certain to create discomfort, the film uses a carefully restrained approach to provide a distressing yet entirely naturalistic portrait of a soft-spoken office worker who keeps a ten-year-old boy locked in his basement.

All the hallmarks of a good thriller are here, but ID: A lacks the originality (and a good title) to stick in the memory. The leading lady’s a joy to watch though, and not just because she’s cute… which she most definitely is.

Cliched performances, shallow characters and a patchy narrative. Still, it involves medieval torture and the Spanish Inquisition, so there’s at least something to see here.

Gary Ross fleshes out Suzanne Collins’ sparse survival tale into a fully-fledged dystopian action flick, adding social and political complexities only glimpsed at in the debut novel. Stonking performances from everyone involved, genuinely harrowing scenes of sacrifice and A TOTAL LACK OF WEEPING VAMPIRES make this one teen franchise actual worthy of the label Young Adult. Thanks Bella, but you can go now.